Partner Visa Five-Year Sponsor Rule

The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule decides whether an Australian sponsor can support a new partner or fiancé when that sponsor has a partner migration history. The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule sits in regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994. It catches two kinds of people: sponsors who have sponsored a partner or fiancé before, and sponsors who were themselves sponsored as a partner or fiancé.

This guide is about who the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule applies to, and who it does not. It explains the two limbs of the rule, the visas it covers, the reasons it exists, the people who fall outside it, why Australian citizenship does not change the answer, and the two exceptions. It does not set out detailed date calculations. The firm's commercial page on partner visa sponsorship limitations explains how My Migration Lawyers handles these cases, and the hub article on when a sponsor cannot sponsor a partner visa sets out every limitation in one place.

The key point is this. The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule is about the sponsor, not the applicant. The Department of Home Affairs looks at the Australian partner's own history. If that history includes an earlier partner sponsorship, in either direction, the rule may apply. If it does not, the rule is irrelevant, however complicated the applicant's own past may be. For the wider picture of every pathway, see the complete guide to partner visas in Australia.

What is the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule?

The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule is a limitation in regulation 1.20J(1)(b) and (c) that stops the Department from approving a partner or fiancé sponsorship if the sponsor sponsored someone, or was sponsored, through a partner or fiancé visa application made less than five years earlier.

It is one part of a wider regulation. Regulation 1.20J(1)(a) sets a lifetime limit of two approved partner or fiancé sponsorships. Regulation 1.20J(1)(b) and (c) add the five year limitation. The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule applies even when the lifetime limit is not reached. A sponsor who has only ever sponsored one person can still be stopped by it.

The rule is part of the sponsorship assessment, not a separate process. When a partner visa applicant lodges, the Australian partner lodges a sponsorship. The article on what the Australian partner must do as a partner visa sponsor explains the sponsor's role more generally. The Department then decides whether to approve that sponsorship as part of the decision on the visa. The article on how the partner visa sponsorship assessment works explains that process. If the sponsorship cannot be approved, the visa cannot be granted. A sponsor caught by the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule is therefore not just facing a problem with a form. The whole application is at risk.

The Department's own policy summarises the rule in plain terms. A person who has sponsored a spouse, de facto partner, fiancé or interdependent partner cannot have another sponsorship approved until at least five years after the first visa application was made. A person who was sponsored as a spouse, de facto partner, fiancé or interdependent partner cannot sponsor a partner until at least five years after their own visa application was made.

Who does the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule apply to?

The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule applies to any proposed sponsor for a Subclass 820, Subclass 309 or Subclass 300 visa who either sponsored a partner or fiancé, or was sponsored as a partner or fiancé, through a visa application made within the previous five years.

Status does not matter. The rule applies equally to an Australian citizen sponsor, a permanent resident sponsor and an eligible New Zealand citizen sponsor. Each of them must first meet the ordinary partner visa sponsor eligibility requirements. The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule is an extra test that sits on top of those requirements. The FAQs on how to prove a sponsor is an Australian citizen and whether a New Zealand citizen can sponsor a partner visa deal with status questions that come before the five year question.

The rule has two limbs. They work in the same way but catch different people.

Limb one: regulation 1.20J(1)(b), the sponsor who sponsored before

The first limb catches a sponsor who has previously sponsored or nominated a partner or fiancé. Consider a sponsor who sponsored a wife on a Subclass 820 visa, separated, and has now met someone new. That sponsor is caught by limb one. Until five years have passed from the earlier visa application, the new sponsorship cannot be approved unless the waiver applies.

Under Department policy, an earlier sponsorship only counts if it resulted in the grant of a visa. The grant is the critical event. What happened after the grant does not matter. A sponsor whose former partner was granted a visa but never travelled to Australia is still caught. So is a sponsor whose former fiancé was granted a Subclass 300 visa but never married the sponsor. The two-stage partner visas are counted once, not twice, because the permanent stage has no separate sponsorship approval.

Limb two: regulation 1.20J(1)(c), the sponsor who was sponsored

The second limb catches a sponsor who was themselves sponsored or nominated as a spouse, de facto partner, fiancé or interdependent partner. This is the person who arrived on a partner or fiancé visa, became a permanent resident or citizen, and is now in a new relationship. The article on the partner visa sponsor who recently became a permanent resident covers the wider issues for that group.

Limb two runs from the date of the sponsor's own visa application. A sponsor caught by limb two cannot have a new partner sponsorship approved until at least five years after that application was made, unless the waiver applies. The sponsor can still lodge earlier. What matters is the position when the decision is made. Department policy makes an important point here. Being sponsored does not use up one of the sponsor's two lifetime sponsorships. It is a separate consideration. A person sponsored as a spouse who later sponsors a fiancé has not used up their two sponsorships. But the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule still applies to them through limb two.

Limb two also catches people who received their permanent partner visa in unusual ways. A person who was granted a permanent partner visa on family violence grounds after the relationship ended was still sponsored. So was a person granted a partner visa after their sponsor died. Department policy expressly says that a person granted a partner visa because the sponsor died is prevented from sponsoring another person within the five year period, although compelling circumstances may exist. The article on a partner visa after a partner's death explains that pathway.

Can a sponsor be caught by both limbs?

Yes. A sponsor can be caught by both limbs at the same time. Consider a person who arrived on a Subclass 309 visa, later separated, then sponsored a second partner who was granted a visa, and has now met a third partner. That sponsor was sponsored (limb two) and has sponsored (limb one). Each limb must be checked separately. The lifetime limit in regulation 1.20J(1)(a) must also be checked. The FAQ on whether a person can sponsor more than one partner gives a short answer on the lifetime limit.

Which visas does the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule cover?

The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule covers sponsorships for the Subclass 309 and Subclass 820 Partner visas and the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa, and Department policy records that it historically also covered spouse visas and interdependency visas.

Department policy lists the applications to which regulation 1.20J applies:

• Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa applications;
• Subclass 309 and Subclass 820 Partner visa applications made on or after 1 July 2009;
• spouse visa applications under Subclass 309 and Subclass 820 made on or after 1 November 1996 but before 1 July 2009; and
• interdependency visa applications under Subclass 310 and Subclass 826 made on or after 1 November 1996 but before 1 July 2009.

The current application is the one tested. But the earlier sponsorship that triggers the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule can be under any of the older categories. Department policy lists the past grants that are relevant. They include permanent Subclass 100, Subclass 110, Subclass 801, Subclass 814 and Subclass 831 grants and temporary Subclass 300, Subclass 305, Subclass 309, Subclass 310, Subclass 820 and Subclass 826 grants.

This matters for people with a long migration history. A sponsor who was granted an interdependency visa many years ago was sponsored as an interdependent partner. A sponsor who sponsored a same-sex partner on an interdependency visa before 1 July 2009 sponsored that partner. Both histories are relevant, although the passage of time means that in most of these older cases the five years ended long ago. The firm's page on LGBTI partner visas explains how same-sex relationships are now treated.

What about the permanent Subclass 801 and Subclass 100 stage?

The permanent stage has no separate sponsorship approval. Department policy explains that the time of decision criteria for the Subclass 100 and Subclass 801 visas refer back to the sponsor approved for the temporary visa. That is why a two-stage application counts as one sponsorship. It also means the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule is tested at the first stage decision. The article on the partner visa two-stage process and the guide to Subclass 820 versus Subclass 801 explain how the two stages fit together.

Why does the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule exist?

The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule exists to prevent abuse of the partner and fiancé migration provisions through repeated sponsorships in a short period.

The Department's policy states that purpose directly. The Subclass 820 policy says the purpose of regulation 1.20J is to prevent abuse of the Partner visa program through multiple partner sponsorships. The concern is a pattern in which one Australian partner sponsors a series of partners in quick succession, or in which a person who gained residence through a partner visa quickly sponsors someone else.

The purpose shapes how the rule is applied. Decision makers are told to keep it in mind when deciding whether to waive the rule. That is why the history and genuineness of the earlier relationship often become relevant. A sponsor who can show that the earlier relationship was real and ended for reasons outside their control is in a different position from a sponsor whose history suggests careless or repeated sponsorship. The article on the genuine and continuing relationship test explains how genuineness is assessed in the current application.

It is important to be honest about what the rule is not. The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule is not a finding that the sponsor did anything wrong. Most sponsors caught by it are ordinary people whose earlier relationship ended. The rule applies automatically to their history. It is a limitation on approval, not an accusation.

Who is not caught by the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule?

The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule does not catch a sponsor whose only partner history is a refused application, a sponsor who has never sponsored or been sponsored as a partner or fiancé, or a sponsor whose concern is really the applicant's history.

Many sponsors worry about the rule when it does not apply to them. Others assume they are safe when they are not. The groups below are the ones that most often cause confusion.

Sponsors whose earlier application was refused

A sponsorship connected to a refused visa application does not count under Department policy. The sponsorship must have resulted in the grant of a visa. A sponsor who supported a partner whose Subclass 309 application was refused has not "sponsored" that person for the purposes of the count in regulation 1.20J(1)(a), and that earlier refusal does not start the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule under limb one.

That does not make the earlier refusal irrelevant. The Department sees the earlier file. Any concerns recorded in it may carry forward, especially about genuineness, credibility or false information. The article on a partner visa with a previous partner visa refusal and the FAQ on disclosing a previous visa refusal explain those effects.

One point is less settled. Where the sponsor's own earlier partner visa application was refused or withdrawn, the question is whether limb two can still apply. The Tribunal decision in Dhindsa (Migration) [2019] AATA 5650 was remitted to the Department on a recorded issue that five years had not elapsed since the review applicant had been sponsored, and that the review applicant's previous application was withdrawn. A sponsor with a withdrawn or refused application of their own should obtain advice on their exact history before relying on the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule not applying.

The applicant's own sponsorship history

The applicant's history does not trigger the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule. Department policy gives a clear example. An applicant was granted a Subclass 300 visa, travelled to Australia, did not marry the sponsor, returned home, later married another person and applied for a Subclass 309 visa. That earlier sponsorship does not count against the new sponsor. The fact that the applicant was sponsored before has no relevance to the current sponsor's ability to meet regulation 1.20J. It is only if the current sponsor has sponsored someone, or was sponsored, that the rule applies.

The applicant's history still matters in other ways. Previous relationships are relevant to genuineness. False information in an earlier application can raise Public Interest Criterion 4020. The article on partner visa previous relationship history explains how previous relationships are assessed. But none of that is the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule.

People sponsored under non-partner visas

The rule is about partner and fiancé sponsorships only. A sponsor who came to Australia as a child on a child visa, or whose parents sponsored them, was not sponsored as a spouse, de facto partner, fiancé or interdependent partner. A sponsor who came as a remaining relative or on another family visa is in the same position. Limb two does not apply to that history. A sponsor who came to Australia on a humanitarian visa is also not caught merely because of that grant, although other issues can arise, as the FAQ on whether a former refugee can sponsor a partner visa explains. The article on a partner visa sponsor with their own visa history problems covers other parts of a sponsor's past that the Department may look at.

The same is true of sponsorships in the other direction. A person who has sponsored a parent, a child or another relative has not sponsored a partner. Those sponsorships do not start the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule. A separate limitation in regulation 1.20KA applies to some holders of Contributory Parent visas, and that limitation runs from a different date. It is not part of regulation 1.20J.

Skilled, employer and other permanent residents

A sponsor who became a permanent resident through a skilled, employer sponsored, business or student pathway is not caught by the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule merely because their residence is recent. The article on the partner visa sponsor who holds a skilled or employer sponsored PR covers that group.

This includes a person who was granted residence as a secondary applicant on a partner's skilled or employer visa. That person was included as a member of the family unit. They were not sponsored as a partner under the partner or fiancé provisions. Department policy describes limb two as applying to persons sponsored or nominated as a spouse, de facto partner, fiancé or interdependent partner. A secondary applicant on a skilled visa was not sponsored or nominated in that way.

Australian citizens with no partner migration history

An Australian citizen by birth who has never sponsored a partner or fiancé, and was never sponsored, is outside the rule. The same applies to a citizen by descent or a dual citizen with no partner migration history. For these sponsors the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule has nothing to attach to.

Sponsors who supported a partner who never applied

A sponsor whose previous partner never lodged a visa application has not sponsored anyone. A relationship that existed but did not lead to a granted partner or fiancé visa is not a sponsorship for the purposes of the count. It may still need to be disclosed where the forms ask about relationship history, but it does not trigger the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule.

Does becoming an Australian citizen change the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule?

No. Becoming an Australian citizen does not reset or remove the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule, because the rule looks at the earlier visa application, not at the sponsor's current status.

This is one of the most common misunderstandings. A person arrives on a Subclass 309 visa, receives the permanent Subclass 100, separates, becomes a citizen and then meets someone new. Many people in that position believe citizenship has wiped the slate clean. It has not. The person was sponsored as a partner. Limb two still applies until five years have passed from their own visa application, unless the waiver applies.

The same applies under limb one. A permanent resident who sponsored a partner and later became a citizen is still a sponsor who has sponsored a partner. Citizenship changes their status as a sponsor, but not their history. The article on the partner visa sponsor who recently became a citizen and the article on a sponsor who becomes a citizen during processing explain the other effects of citizenship on a sponsorship. The FAQ on when a person can apply for citizenship after a partner visa explains the citizenship timing itself.

In practice, many people caught by limb two are close to citizenship eligibility at the same time as they meet a new partner. Both timelines can run together. Neither shortens the other. The partner visa citizenship pathway article explains how residence periods are counted for citizenship, which is a different calculation.

Does the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule apply to divorced and separated sponsors?

Yes. The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule applies whether the earlier relationship ended in divorce, separation or death, because the rule looks at the earlier visa application and grant, not at how or when the earlier relationship ended.

A divorce does not cancel an earlier sponsorship. Nor does a separation, a finding that the former partner was a victim of family violence, or the cancellation of the former partner's visa after grant. The article on a partner visa after divorce explains the separate rules about ending a previous marriage before a new relationship can qualify. The FAQ on notifying Home Affairs that a relationship has ended explains the separate duty to tell the Department when a sponsored relationship ends.

The way the earlier relationship ended still matters, but in a different place. It is relevant to the waiver. Department policy lists the death of the previous partner, and a previous spouse abandoning the sponsor where there are children dependent on the sponsor, as examples of compelling circumstances. Those facts do not take the sponsor outside the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule. They support an argument that the rule should be waived.

Which earlier sponsorships trigger the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule?

An earlier sponsorship triggers the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule under limb one when it resulted in the grant of a partner, spouse, interdependency or fiancé visa to the person sponsored, whatever happened afterwards.

Department policy gives a series of examples. Each one shows how wide the rule is:

• a visa granted to a partner who never travelled to Australia counts;
• a spouse visa cancelled before the spouse entered Australia counts;
• a fiancé visa granted where the marriage never took place counts;
• a permanent visa granted on family violence grounds after the relationship ended counts, because it was granted as a result of the original sponsorship; and
• a visa granted after the sponsor's death counts.

Most of these examples involve a relationship that failed. That is why sponsors are often surprised. A sponsor whose fiancé arrived and left within weeks may feel that they never really sponsored anyone. Under Department policy, they did. The grant is what counts. The firm's FAQ answering whether a lawyer can help if a sponsor has sponsored a partner before is a short starting point for sponsors in that position.

Tribunal decisions show these cases in practice. In Luangkratok (Migration) [2022] AATA 89, a Subclass 820 matter, the decision was remitted on a recorded issue that the sponsor had previously sponsored a Partner visa applicant within five years of the new application, with compelling circumstances in issue. In 1700695 (Migration) [2019] AATA 3133, a Subclass 309 matter, the decision was remitted on recorded issues that the sponsor had previously sponsored two people, that less than five years had passed since the last sponsorship, and that there were compelling reasons to approve.

How does the Department find out about earlier sponsorships?

The Department finds out from the sponsor's answers in the sponsorship application and from its own sponsorship and nomination database records, so a sponsor cannot avoid the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule by staying silent.

Department policy tells officers to have regard to the information the sponsor provides in the sponsorship and to departmental sponsorship and nomination records. A sponsor who sponsored a partner ten years ago through a different office, or under an old visa category, should assume the Department can see it. A sponsor who was sponsored themselves has a visa grant on record. The article on partner visa sponsorship lodgement and the guide to the Form 40SP sponsorship form explain what the sponsorship asks.

Honesty is essential. A sponsor who leaves out an earlier sponsorship does not escape the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule. They add a credibility problem to a limitation problem. A sponsor who is unsure about their own history can request their records. The article on a partner visa FOI request explains how a person obtains their immigration file.

What are the exceptions to the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule?

There are two exceptions to the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule: the five year period ends before the decision on the current sponsorship is made, or the decision maker is satisfied that there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor under regulation 1.20J(2).

Neither exception removes the sponsor from the rule. Both work inside it. A sponsor who is caught by the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule at lodgement may still have the sponsorship approved if one of these exceptions applies when the decision is made.

Exception one: the five years end before the decision

Sponsorship approval is a time of decision criterion. Under subclause 820.221(4), for example, the sponsorship must be approved and remain in force at the time of decision. Department policy states that the five year period runs to the date of approval or refusal of the current sponsorship, not to the date of lodgement. A limitation that applied when the application was lodged can therefore fall away during processing.

Department policy gives an example. A sponsor whose earlier spouse application was made on 1 January 1994 sponsored a new partner for a Subclass 300 visa on 1 October 1998, when less than five years had passed. The decision was made on 1 March 1999. By then five years had passed, so the sponsorship could be approved. The exact counting of dates is a separate topic and depends on the documents in each case.

The same principle applies on review. The Administrative Review Tribunal decides the case on the law and facts at the time of its own decision. Several Tribunal decisions have been remitted to the Department on this basis. In Pham (Migration) [2021] AATA 4906, a Subclass 309 matter, the recorded issues were that the application was made less than five years after the sponsor's permanent visa was granted and that the limitation period had now passed. In Kairpal (Migration) [2019] AATA 1914, also a Subclass 309 matter, the recorded issues were the previous sponsorship of a partner and that the five-year limitation had passed. In Rogers (Migration) [2020] AATA 4743, a Subclass 309 matter, the recorded issues were that five years had not lapsed since the earlier visa application, that five years elapsed during review, and that the relationship was genuine and continuing.

These decisions show something important about who the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule affects. A sponsor caught by the rule today is not necessarily caught by it at the time of decision. The question is always when the decision will be made.

Exception two: compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor

Regulation 1.20J(2) allows the Department to approve a sponsorship that would otherwise fail regulation 1.20J(1) if there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor. As a matter of law, every case must be assessed against regulation 1.20J(2). A decision maker cannot simply apply the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule and stop.

Department policy lists examples of compelling circumstances. They are not exhaustive:

• the applicant and the sponsor have a dependent child who is dependent on each of them;
• the death of the previous partner;
• the previous spouse abandoned the sponsor and there are children dependent on the sponsor who require care and support; and
• the new relationship is longstanding.

A longstanding relationship is usually shown with the same kinds of evidence used for genuineness, including Form 888 witness statements and the material described in the article on a partner visa long-term relationship.

Policy also points to the nature of the hardship the sponsor would suffer if the sponsorship were not approved, and the extent and importance of the sponsor's ties to Australia, including the hardship if the sponsor felt compelled to leave Australia to keep the relationship. The circumstances must affect the sponsor. Hardship to the applicant alone is not the test. The articles on partner visa compelling and compassionate circumstances, compelling reasons and length of relationship and compelling reasons and Australian citizen children explain how these ideas are argued in partner cases generally.

Policy also deals with so-called "innocent sponsors". These are sponsors who say the earlier relationship was genuine and they were blameless in its failure. Decision makers may accept that this amounts to compelling circumstances, but that depends on whether the bona fides of the original relationship can be established and whether the first sponsorship was "careless". A careless sponsorship, in the policy's language, is one entered into with the expectation that if things did not work out, the sponsor would be free to try again.

A Tribunal decision on this ground is 2004843 (Migration) [2023] AATA 4514, a Subclass 820 matter remitted on recorded issues of compelling circumstances, a sponsorship less than five years after a Partner visa application, and a child born of the relationship.

How does the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule relate to the lifetime limit of two sponsorships?

The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule and the lifetime limit are separate tests in the same regulation, and a sponsor must satisfy both or obtain a waiver.

Regulation 1.20J(1)(a) allows at most two approved partner or fiancé sponsorships in a lifetime. The partner visa 5 year sponsor rule applies even if the sponsor is well within that limit. A sponsor who has sponsored only one partner can be stopped by the five year limitation. The firm's Subclass 820 partner visa guide and the FAQ explaining the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa show where the sponsorship sits in each pathway. A sponsor who has already sponsored two partners can be stopped by the lifetime limit even if both earlier applications were made more than five years ago.

Being sponsored does not count toward the lifetime limit. It counts only under the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule. Department policy says the fact that a person was sponsored as a spouse is a separate consideration from the number of sponsorships they can enter into. The FAQ on who can sponsor a partner visa and the article on partner visa sponsor requirements explain where these limitations sit among the other requirements.

What happens if the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule leads to a refusal?

If the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule means the sponsorship cannot be approved and the waiver is not exercised, the visa application is refused, and that refusal can usually be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal.

There is no separate sponsorship decision sent to the sponsor. The sponsorship is decided as part of the visa decision. The article on when partner visa sponsorship approval is decided and the FAQ on what happens if a partner's sponsorship is refused explain the mechanics.

Before the refusal: the section 57 letter

For applications that can be reviewed, section 57 of the Migration Act 1958 requires the Department to give the applicant particulars of relevant adverse information that would be the reason, or part of the reason, for refusal, to explain why it is relevant, and to invite comment. In a sponsorship limitation case this is often the first point at which the couple learns the rule is in play. The response is the chance to put the waiver case. The article on the section 57 natural justice letter and the FAQ on what a section 57 natural justice letter is explain how to respond.

After the refusal: review rights and deadlines

The article on what to do when a partner visa is refused sets out the first steps. A refusal of a Subclass 820, Subclass 309 or Subclass 300 visa, including one based on the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule, is reviewable by the Administrative Review Tribunal. The application for review must be lodged within 28 days after the day the applicant is notified of the decision, or 7 days if the applicant is in immigration detention. The time limit cannot be extended. For a Subclass 820 refusal and a Subclass 309 refusal, the visa applicant lodges the review. For a Subclass 300 refusal, the sponsor lodges it. The FAQ on how to work out the deadline to apply for review and the article on the partner visa appeal deadline explain the timing.

The Tribunal fee for a migration review is $3,727 for fees paid on or after 1 July 2026. A 50% reduction is available for financial hardship, and 50% is refunded if the decision is set aside or remitted. The article on partner visa ART fees and the FAQ on Tribunal review cost and fee reduction explain the fee in more detail. The FAQ on who must apply for review of an offshore spouse visa refusal deals with the Subclass 309 position. An onshore Subclass 820 applicant holding a Bridging visa A generally keeps it while a valid review is pending. The article on a bridging visa after a partner visa refusal explains that position.

Review matters in these cases for a particular reason. Because the Tribunal looks at the facts at the time of its own decision, the five years may have ended by the time the review is decided. The waiver can also be argued afresh, with new evidence. The FAQ on giving the Tribunal new evidence and the article on partner visa ART evidence explain how that evidence is prepared, and the article on how the Tribunal assesses compelling reasons explains how compelling circumstances are approached on review. The FAQ on how to challenge a refusal involving sponsorship limitations and the article on the ART review process for partner visas explain that path. The firm's partner visa refusals page and the urgent ART visa refusal applications page explain how the firm acts when a deadline is running.

Common mistakes about who the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule applies to

The most common mistake is assuming the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule applies to the wrong person, or does not apply because something has changed since the earlier sponsorship.

The mistakes seen most often are these:

• Thinking citizenship resets the rule. It does not. The rule looks at the earlier application, not the sponsor's status.
• Thinking only the person who sponsored is caught. Limb two also catches the person who was sponsored.
• Thinking a failed relationship does not count. If the earlier visa was granted, the sponsorship counts, even if the partner never arrived or the fiancé never married the sponsor.
• Worrying about the applicant's history. The applicant's earlier sponsorship by someone else does not trigger the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule.
• Counting a refused application. A sponsorship connected to a refused visa application does not count under Department policy.
• Treating the rule as final. The waiver must be considered in every case, and the five years may end before the decision.
• Hiding the earlier sponsorship. The Department checks its records. Non-disclosure creates a separate and serious problem.

A sponsor who is unsure where they stand should have their history checked before lodging. The article on a partner visa sponsor risk assessment before lodgement and the article on partner visa application review before lodgement explain what that check involves. The firm's page on urgent partner visa lodgement explains how lodgement is handled when time is short.

Questions to answer before lodging a sponsorship

Before lodging, a sponsor with any partner migration history should answer a short list of questions so that the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule is identified at the start, not in a section 57 letter.

• Have I ever sponsored or nominated a spouse, de facto partner, fiancé or interdependent partner, and was that person granted a visa?
• Was I ever sponsored or nominated as a spouse, de facto partner, fiancé or interdependent partner myself?
• When was each of those earlier visa applications made, and do I have the records to prove the date?
• When is the decision on the new application likely to be made?
• Do I have circumstances that may be compelling, such as a child with my new partner, the death of my previous partner, children who depend on me, or a longstanding new relationship?
• Have I been completely accurate about my history in the sponsorship and in every earlier application?

The answers decide the strategy. Some sponsors are outside the rule entirely. Some are caught now but will not be caught at the likely time of decision. Some need a waiver submission from the start. The article on complex partner visa applications and the FAQ on what makes a partner visa complex describe how these cases are planned.

How My Migration Lawyers helps sponsors affected by the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule

My Migration Lawyers acts for Australian sponsors whose own history brings the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule into play, and the firm deals with complex sponsorship limitation cases, acts in many matters of exactly this type, and is capable of handling them from first advice through to Tribunal review.

The work starts with the sponsor's history, not a template. My Migration Lawyers works out whether the sponsor falls within limb one, limb two, both or neither, by checking the earlier visa applications and grants against the regulation and Department policy. Where the sponsor is outside the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule, the firm says so clearly, so the couple does not lose time worrying about a limitation that does not apply. Where the sponsor is inside it, the firm identifies whether the five years are likely to end before a decision and whether there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor that can be properly evidenced.

When the rule is engaged, My Migration Lawyers prepares the sponsorship, the disclosure of the earlier history and the waiver submission together, so that the case the Department reads is accurate and complete from the first day. The firm also responds to section 57 letters in sponsorship limitation cases and runs Tribunal reviews where a refusal has already been made and the review deadline is still open. The firm's partner visa questions hub answers many related questions, and the article on what to expect from a partner visa lawyer consultation explains how a first meeting works. Sponsors can read more about the firm's approach on the partner visa lawyers page and about the firm's principal on the Weiwei Zhang page.

If you are a sponsor and you are unsure whether the partner visa 5 year sponsor rule applies to you, or you already know it does, Book a Consultation with My Migration Lawyers, or call 1300 040 300.